Joe Lovano’s
‘Viva Caruso,’ is his thirteenth album for Blue Note and dedicated
to the music of that great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso – some titles
are taken from the Caruso collection ‘Caruso In Song’ whilst
others are written and arranged by Lovano. This is my selection
for CD of the year. Whilst it features two groups of musicians, the
‘Joe Lovano Street Band’ and the ‘Opera House Ensemble’ some players
are featured with both. The instrumentation is new to say the least!
The ten-piece Street Band includes two bass players, up to three drummers,
accordion and voice. Within this set-up he experiments by featuring
duos, trios etc. gradually building up to full strength. The outcome
is contemporary jazz of the highest quality and Lovano must surely
be in the handful of top tenor players in the world.

All the
tracks hold some individual appeal and several display a special attraction.
The opening unison chorus to the ‘Streets of Naples’ is so
descriptive that it immediately brings to mind the atmosphere of that
city. After that initial theme both Lovano and Gil Goldstein launch
into melodic and expressive solos and then its back to the theme again
– nothing complicated or over-stretched, just good music. The whole
composition is played around a ‘Latin’ rhythm. The title song ‘Viva
Caruso’ is another of the highlights of the album – again we hear
an infectious rhythm backing what is a very simple tune with Lovano
working around the harmonics. His solo confirms his high esteem amongst
fellow musicians and modern music fans alike. ‘Campane A Sera’ is
an expressive piece featuring fine work between Lovano, Judi Silvano
and the flutes. The other nine tracks are clever with often unexpected
forays into either Caruso’s popular songs or Lovano’s accomplished
interpretation of the contribution that Caruso made to popular music.

He considers
this work is ‘the culmination of many long developing strands coupled
with his and his wife’s fascination with opera as well as dance.’
The idea was to try and interpret that music with its various rhythms,
harmonies and style in a way that’s ‘free and organic.’ This he does
in such a way that should appeal to all fans of progressive music.
As one biographer put it "‘Viva Caruso’ is a roots project,
Lovano the ethnic Folklorist." I couldn’t agree more!